AN ILLEGAL immigrant fled Scotland after raping a woman and attacking others while working as a taxi driver.

Ibrahim Selman went on the run to the Sudan days after holding a female passenger hostage, repeatedly raping her and leaving her for dead in the street.

Now one of his victims is demanding an investigation into how Selman managed to get the licence which allowed him to operate a private hire taxi in Edinburgh.

She said: “When I got into his taxi, he had a proper driver ID badge and official badges on the outside of his car.

“I thought I was safe because he’d been properly vetted.

“He drove off with me and subjected me to a horrific ordeal.”

The 29 year-old Edinburgh woman claimed her life has been destroyed after getting into Selman’s car outside a hotel near Princes Street in August 2008.

She had no idea his licence had actually been withdrawn seven months earlier.

Selman drove to an isolated area and attacked her for over an hour, leaving her semiconscious in the street. She said: “My life has been left in ruins. I used to hold down a £30,000-a-year job – now I rarely go out the door and suffer flashbacks and nightmares.

“When the authorities found out about his status, why weren’t the official badges physically removed?”

The woman was devastated to learn Selman had fled to Sudan before being charged.

Her lawyer, Cameron Fyfe of Drummond Miller, said: “Selman was an illegal immigrant and should not have been able to work as a licensed taxi driver.

“For public safety reasons, we need to ascertain how on earth Selman was able to work when stringent checks are supposed to be in place.”

Selman was issued the taxi licence by Edinburgh City Council in December 2006. His application was checked by police with no objection being made until 2007.

A council spokeswoman said: “When information became available with regard to this individual’s immigration status, this was acted upon.

“He was no longer able to drive a hire car from January 30, 2008 onwards.”

Police said before 2007, immigration status checks were not carried out during licence vetting.

An objection was only raised when Selman renewed his application in December that year.